This article describes how Organ Donation Scotland created a targeted, social campaign to maintain healthy levels of registrations to the Organ Donor Register.

Budget limitations meant small bursts of PR and social media were favoured over broadcast media; it was therefore imperative any activity was precisely targeted to those moments, channels and stakeholders with the most influence.

Research employed Artificial Intelligence modelling, human decoding and an in-depth understanding of ODS's marketing strategy to unlock a deeper understanding of how online activity impacted registrations.

By analysing Facebook and Twitter, including anonymised private Facebook topic data, research illustrated how campaigns spread across a wider population.

2

PayPal: The Evolution of PayPal - New Purpose, New Money

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

MRS Awards, Winner, International Research , 2016

This paper describes a global research project for PayPal, the online payment service, which sought to contemporise the brand and align it with people's attitudes to money.

This paper describes a global research project for PayPal, the online payment service, which sought to contemporise the brand and align it with people's attitudes to money.

PayPal found itself at a point of transition; it was becoming independent of eBay, the auction site, and sought to develop a new identity and brand purpose for the next phase of its life.

Culture, technology and financial services had also evolved at a rapid rate since PayPal's launch in 1999, giving further impetus for its need to change.

PayPal developed a global research program that sought to understand the failings of money and financial services for a large and very diverse audience of 'underserved' people, in a variety of different cultural contexts.

The project set up a simple test to determine the deviation of the current performance of money from 'the ideal', which led PayPal to a new and clearly defined brand purpose in meeting that ideal; this has fed into product development and global marketing activity.

This case study describes how accommodations provider, Airbnb, leveraged digital and video to turn people's fear of strangers into a selling point for a global brand awareness campaign.

In less than seven years, Airbnb has grown from two guys renting out air mattresses to offering 2 million homes in 191 countries, with a model that relies on strangers trusting each other.

'Stranger danger' was driving Airbnb's trust issues, so it identified a new global audience segment called 'Identity Voyager', tech-savvy, super-social, open-minded travellers of all ages.

It created a film telling the story of a young solo female traveller, who takes a trip across five world destinations, staying in Airbnbs along the way and ran it on cinema, premium digital video, VOD, TV and social media.

In 60 days, the campaign created a +14% uplift in global brand awareness.

4

SmartLife: Project Akshar (Alphabets) - How we transformed lives of labour into lives of learning

This case study describes how SmartLife, a leading NGO for Dubai's blue-collared labourers, launched free English classes by using visual learning techniques.

Dubai was built on the backs of labourers from the Indian sub-continent and they knew that learning English could help them get better jobs and salaries; however, working 12-hour days for as little as $200 a month, they neither had the money or the time to educate themselves.

Project Akshar (Alphabets) created a way of teaching English through the students' native language.

Designed on what looked like school notepads, SmartLife placed hundreds of transcribed words at various points of their daily journey: labour camps became educational camps; transport buses became school buses; construction sites became learning sites.

A new generation of foodies are the cooking category's biggest opportunity - but they're not drawn to big, anonymous packaged food brands like Knorr, preferring smaller, authentic, more personable brands that are stealing market share.

Knorr conducted a study among 12,000 people in 12 markets and discovered that flavour was a key component of compatibility in relationships.

It created a digital tool which identified the user's flavour personality and created a film in which it sent people with similar flavour personalities on a foodie first date, which was distributed via social and online partners.

Brand appeal among Millennials grew by 7.6% points across the globe and future purchase intent among them by 14% points, and market share increased by 1.4% points during and immediately after the campaign.

6

National Institute of Blood Transfusion and Untold Music Festival: Pay With Blood

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Warc Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Channel Integration, 2016

This case study describes a campaign by the National Institute of Blood Transfusion in Romania which successfully increased blood donations among young people and first-time donors by partnering with a music festival.

This case study describes a campaign by the National Institute of Blood Transfusion in Romania which successfully increased blood donations among young people and first-time donors by partnering with a music festival.

In 2015, blood supplies in the country had plummeted so low that doctors were being forced to cancel surgeries.

The 'Pay With Blood' campaign offered a free wristband - a branded tourniquet - to the Untold music festival to anyone who donated blood.

The campaign was amplified through Untold's Facebook page and festival performers spreading the message on social media, as well as outdoor ads and in-clinic posters and flyers.

During the festival, the branded tourniquets became a status symbol for the donors taking part in a humanitarian movement.

As a result of the campaign, the National Institute for Blood Transfusion exceeded its blood storage space, with the highest number of donors ever recorded during summer, most of them also first-time donors.

This case study describes how Emirates NBD, one of the largest banking groups in the Middle East, used an emotionally-charged branded video to promote saving for retirement.

64% of residents in the UAE do not save for retirement, and the costs of living and raising a family mean that retirement planning is no longer a priority.

The bank needed to help customers imagine their lives in 30 years to encourage them to save: a film titled "The Beautiful After" recorded people's reactions to seeing their partners looking old (with the help of a makeup artist).

It was shared on YouTube and Facebook, becoming the most talked about financial advertising idea from the region.

The bank generated $430,000 in earned media value for a total project investment of $100,000, a 330% earned media return on investment.

The case study describes how PepsiCo energy drink brand Sting used TV, digital and sampling tactics to launch the brand and redefine the sector in Egypt.

The energy drinks market in Egypt was composed chiefly of imported foreign brands, sold at high prices in niche locations to well-off consumers and was dominated by Red Bull.

Egypt's capital Cairo is troubled by traffic jams, pollution, power outages, scattered garbage, sexual harassment and time-consuming bureaucracy that make living there difficult and exhausting, so Sting decided to target young Egyptians with the concept of everyday energy.

Sting created TV spots where it turned these everyday challenges into sporting events, complete with a presentation ceremony, followed by a social media-led interactive activation calling for consumers to find, photograph and send in the real everyday heroes.

Sting grew the energy drink category in Egypt from a total sales volume of 6.6 million 8oz cans in August 2014 to 66.2 million cans in July 2015, a +1292% growth in volume and established itself as the clear leader, with 62% market share gained in under a year.

This case study describes how UK broadcaster Channel 4 launched Humans, a new TV series about artificial intelligence and synthetic humans, using TV, online retail, digital and a bricks-and-mortar store.

This case study describes how UK broadcaster Channel 4 launched Humans, a new TV series about artificial intelligence and synthetic humans, using TV, online retail, digital and a bricks-and-mortar store.

Channel 4 is the UK's third-largest broadcaster, owned by the public, with a remit for innovation and distinction but, following a decade of slow decline in audience share and a 30-year low in 2014, it was under scrutiny in 2015 and needed a big year.

Channel 4's challenge was to turn a potentially niche, sci-fi show into a mainstream hit and get 2 million people to watch the programme.

The broadcaster launched Persona Synthetics, the fictional company from the show, as a real brand, promoting synths as genuine products available for purchase, using TV, social media, online retail via eBay and a flagship store on London's Regent Street.

More than 13 million people watched Humans, making it Channel 4's highest-rating British drama of all time and contributing, significantly, to the first year of share growth for the broadcaster in a decade.

This case study describes how Wedel, a chocolate brand from Poland, increased its appeal to younger consumers by stepping outside the commercial break.

Wedel is the oldest chocolate brand in Poland and the main brand challenge was to catch younger consumers' attention, without alienating loyal customers and achieve a sales increase of 11%, increase brand awareness and increase brand image parameters.

Wedel is purchased mainly by older people, so to reach a younger market, Wedel needed to show off its innovative side and decided to do this by targeting young cooks who get their recipe inspiration from the internet.

Digital was identified as the key channel and resulted in video battles between internet food vloggers creating recipes using Wedel products; these were complemented by short radio and TV spots and a dedicated website allowed consumers to upload their own recipes made with Wedel products.

This case study describes how takeaway pizza brand Domino's UK re-engineered its communications and channel model to drive sales by treating purchases as not just transactions but meal occasions and communications moments.

This case study describes how takeaway pizza brand Domino's UK re-engineered its communications and channel model to drive sales by treating purchases as not just transactions but meal occasions and communications moments.

The takeaway landscape had changed and the emergence of aggregators like Hungry House and Just Eat didn't just add more competition for consumers' attention and spend, but were driving change in expectations and behaviour.

Domino's conducted the most significant customer segmentation analysis since its arrival in the UK in 1985 and identified "Family Feasters" (parents with children aged 6 to 14) as a key growth opportunity beyond its existing heartland of 18- to 34-year-old "Social Snackers".

Domino's decided to build new campaigns based on insights into how its combination of product, value and service could make occasions great and did this by increasing its emphasis on digital channels, mobile and sponsorships.

"Greatness from Domino's" generated an ROI figure of 1.3:1 based on profit and a revenue ROI figure of 5:1 and the brand overtook Pizza Hut as the number-one pizza brand by market share and preference.

This case study describes how MasterCard in Dubai used its Priceless Causes platform and 'A Priceless Delivery' interactive wall to connect people who wanted to donate meals to displaced children around the world.

This case study describes how MasterCard in Dubai used its Priceless Causes platform and 'A Priceless Delivery' interactive wall to connect people who wanted to donate meals to displaced children around the world.

The Middle East crisis has led to many displaced families and children, who often go hungry.

People want to help but they feel unable to do so.

An interactive wall in The Dubai Mall during Ramadan allowed shoppers to buy a meal for AED 10 (~2.7 USD) and "deliver" it to the children.

Promoted across social media channels and mobile, the campaign resulted in 400,000 meals and counting being delivered to displaced children and their families in the Middle East.

This case study describes how premium packaged milk brand Olper's converted loose milk users in Pakistan by building a multichannel educational health movement across the country.

Most milk consumed in Pakistan comes from the informal or loose milk category, which is sold in villages and in cities without any quality standards, and which mothers would traditionally boil before drinking in the belief that it got rid of harmful germs.

Olper's identified an issue with the boiling of milk in that it results in the loss of important nutrients, which leads to malnutrition, so it decided to reposition itself as a 'drinking milk for children' in order to target the highest volume usage customers.

To do this it came up with a campaign "You Boil It, You Spoil It" and used renowned nutritionists and health advocates, and World Milk Day to drive home the message on TV, print, radio, on-the-ground seminars and digital.

The conversion from loose milk to Olper's increased by 43% from December 2015 to June 2016 and the campaign also achieved its goal of increasing the consumer base of packaged milk users in Pakistan by 1%.

This case study describes how toy manufacturer Hasbro turned a viral phenomenon featuring its Star Wars Chewbacca mask into a 360º communication on TV and social networks in Spain.

Hasbro owns the licence to manufacture and sell Star Wars action figures, one of which is a Chewbacca mask, but these types of products have quite a limited marketing budget so they are not usually supported with paid media.

A woman's video wearing a Chewbacca mask in the US went viral on Facebook to become the most-viewed video ever on the platform, with more than 140 million views in just a few days, so Hasbro decided to amplify this by sending masks to all major news and TV shows and some celebrities across Spain to use in their news coverage.

It was a success, with many celebrities following the trend by putting on the masks live on TV, thus giving Hasbro a free product demonstration on primetime TV, and they extended the exposure by posting with the mask on their own social channels, so the product became part of every conversation during that day.

This case study explains how Antarctica, a beer brand, rebuilt its connection with people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by encouraging people to put down their phones and enjoy carnival.

Antarctica had helped make carnival more enjoyable for people over successive years by providing practical help like toilets and free transport.

But despite this investment the brand was losing relevance and emotional connections with its target audience, and needed to take a different approach.

Research revealed a conflict: people wanted WiFi internet to be provided at carnival, but at the same time many were concerned they were enjoying the moment when they were putting so much energy into connecting online.

Antarctica decided to encourage people to switch off, helping people plan their carnival activities, and then switching off its website on the day of carnival.

Taking a new approach worked, and the company improve brand metrics including spontaneous awareness, brand consideration and relevance.

This case study describes how food giant McDonald's moved away from the €1 battle going on in traditional media between the quick-service restaurants in Spain and created a multichannel piece of branded content to appeal to foodies.

This case study describes how food giant McDonald's moved away from the €1 battle going on in traditional media between the quick-service restaurants in Spain and created a multichannel piece of branded content to appeal to foodies.

People in Spain weren't eating out as much as they did before because they wanted to save money after the financial crisis but they had also become more and more interested in gastronomy as long as there was a balance between price and quality.

McDonald's needed to elevate its brand perception and increase sales through a campaign focused on turning hamburgers into a gourmet food, which were high quality at a fair price.

It joined forces with Top Chef, Spain's top culinary programme for professional chefs, and gave them the challenge of creating a new burger live on air, with the proviso that the winner would be available in McDonald's the next day, with viewers of the programme voting for the winner through a specially created app.

Sales of the new #foodie sandwich reached 10.1% of all products sold within the first six days against a target of 4% estimated sales and after the fifth week, sales remained at 6.5%, 2.5% higher than the initially marked and expected objective of the campaign.

This case study discusses a business-to-business campaign for Dell, the computer maker, in Japan that highlighted security risks via a survey and a white paper featuring advice on how IT professionals could overcome these risks.

This case study discusses a business-to-business campaign for Dell, the computer maker, in Japan that highlighted security risks via a survey and a white paper featuring advice on how IT professionals could overcome these risks.

IT professionals increasingly prefer to use their own personal devices to do work - a practice that can compromise corporate security and make them more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

So Dell conducted a survey on the topic among the professionals, and repurposed the results as a whitepaper that was then broadcast via a partnership with a key IT publisher.

The whitepaper also featured extensive advice from a Dell expert, reinforcing the company's position as one that could help with security concerns.

The campaign over-delivered marketing-ready leads by 26%, 14% of which were sales-ready- leads, with an ROI of 16:1.

This case study shows how McDonald's launched a zero-budget Facebook campaign aimed at Jordanian teens that used a strategic partnership with an acapella band - and reinforced the brand's positioning as loving, young and dynamic.

This case study shows how McDonald's launched a zero-budget Facebook campaign aimed at Jordanian teens that used a strategic partnership with an acapella band - and reinforced the brand's positioning as loving, young and dynamic.

McDonald's had enjoyed a lot of goodwill in Jordan when it launched there, benefiting from its status as an international brand - but then the hype died down and it needed to pick up sales again.

So McDonald's undertook a range of research, from focus groups to social media listening, and decided to follow a campaign strategy of focusing on existing loyal customers' love for the brand, then going viral and reaching out in turn to lighter users.

It employed an acapella band to use positive social media comments about McDonald's as lyrics, sing songs around the restaurants in malls, film the songs and post them on social media.

The new songs resulted in a spike in Facebook fans for the brand, and a 69% rise in guest counts in the first week of the campaign.

This case study shows how M&M’s, the Mars-owned confectionery brand, celebrated its 75th anniversary by using digital platforms and partnerships to reinterpret its history and drive renewed relevance for a new generation.

This case study shows how M&M’s, the Mars-owned confectionery brand, celebrated its 75th anniversary by using digital platforms and partnerships to reinterpret its history and drive renewed relevance for a new generation.

Leading up to 2016, M&M’s had been slowly losing both relevance and market share, particularly among Millennials.

It partnered with EDM artist Zedd and Aloe Blacc to reimagine a part of M&M’s history, the Candyman song from its 1970’s advertising, and created a full-length music video, which was distributed on both M&M’s and Zedd’s channels.

The brand also tapped a variety of YouTube Influencers and allowed consumers to remix their own version of the new track using actual M&M’s through an augmented reality mobile experience.

The video garnered over 40 million views, the track reached #4 on iTunes, and the campaign garnered 339 million earned media impressions; overall, it reversed the penetration decline.